Tommy Emmanuel’s Angelina – Fingerstyle Acoustic Guitar Cover

It has been a long time since I have shared anything new on YouTube, so I thought I would record a video and post it here for people who may be interested in guitar lessons in Epsom and the surrounding Surrey area.

I originally come from an electric guitar background, but over the last nine years I have gradually transitioned towards fingerstyle acoustic guitar. Interestingly, that period also coincided with the birth of my son — the moment I realised that being in a rock band and disappearing into rehearsals several nights a week was probably going to be unrealistic for quite some time.

Although my electric guitar chops are not quite as sharp as they used to be, I have really fallen in love with the independence that fingerstyle acoustic guitar offers. There is something incredibly satisfying about being able to perform as a one-man band, creating rhythm, bass lines, chords and melody all at the same time on a single instrument. In many ways, there is not even a need for vocals because the guitar itself can carry everything: harmony, groove, accompaniment and melody simultaneously.

In this video I am playing Angelina by Tommy Emmanuel, one of the most recognised and popular pieces in his repertoire. Tommy wrote the piece for his daughter Angelina, and it has become a staple of his live performances around the world.

The tune appeared on the album Endless Road in 2004 and is admired by guitarists for combining beautiful melody writing with demanding fingerstyle technique.

One of the things that makes Tommy Emmanuel such an inspiring musician is his ability to combine technical brilliance with strong musicality and emotional communication. His playing draws heavily from the fingerpicking traditions of Chet Atkins, while also incorporating influences from country, jazz, blues, pop and rock music.

I have been fortunate enough to see Tommy perform live several times over the years and every concert leaves me inspired to keep improving and pushing my own playing further. Watching great musicians live is often one of the biggest motivators for practising seriously and continuing to grow as a guitarist.

This particular arrangement is extremely challenging to play well and I still feel there is a very long way to go before I can perform it with the level of ease and natural flow that Tommy Emmanuel brings to the piece. Tommy himself has been performing “Angelina” for well over twenty years, which is a reminder that guitar playing truly is a lifelong journey of refinement and improvement.

I created my own transcription of this piece around seventeen months ago and have continued refining and adjusting it over time as my understanding of the music has developed.

I hope you enjoy the video.